Atop a Stormy Sea
by Lillybeth-13
Summary: This is a pirates tale that my partner and I hope you enjoy. I would summarize what it's about, but I cannot remember head nor tails of what we wrote. I apologize but, seriously, check it out. You may fall in love with pirate tropes.
1. Prologue

"Bring those boxes over here, Igneel!" a man called out. Igneel turned at the sound of his name and saw a familiar head of unusually messy blond hair. He wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the collar unbuttoned. His left hand was waving him over before he ran it through his already unkempt hair explaining its odd appearance.

"Oh, Jude. I didn't know you'd be making this delivery with us!" Igneel grinned widely when he reached his old friend. He placed the crates next to the pile behind Jude before he rested his back against them. "I see you've also ditched the 'I don't know how to have fun' hair."

Jude laughed as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Yeah. Layla is onboard too. Her homemade tea seems to be quite the success over in Ishgar."

A fond smile lit up Igneel's face. "That's great for you and your family. I knew her tea would be a hit!" He took another box from a crewmate and placed it onto the ever-growing pile. "I'll have to snatch some before we reach the port."

Jude's lips parted with a tut unable to hide the skepticism in his tone, "Really? You actually like that stuff? I personally think it tastes like tree bark." Eager to change the topic, lest his wife somehow overheard them, he added on, "How're your little ones, Igneel?"

Igneel groaned thinking back to this morning when Natsu thought it was a genius idea to glue his older brother's hand to his face, one of his more devious and rather painful pranks. "Spoiled as ever. They get away with everything. They also weren't happy that I would be taking another long voyage." He grabbed the last box to carry onto the deck. "You should bring Lucy to the house sometime. She's around the same age as Natsu, yeah? I bet they would get along great. She'd probably be a good influence on the brat."

Jude let a long sigh out through his nose. "That's not a bad idea. She could use the company. She's been really lonely with both of us gone all the time. Layla stayed behind with her in the beginning but now, with all the open trade, she's even busier than I am."

Igneel clamped a hand around his old friend's shoulder. "I look forward to it and thanks for all your hard work, Jude." He placed his other hand on his own lower back, groaning when he took a moment to try and straighten it out before hobbling across the upper deck. "I'm getting too old for this."

Jude sniggered as he fell into step beside him, tilting his head from side to side, stretching out the muscles that tightened from looking down for so long. "You're telling me."

"Alright, boys! Set sail!" Igneel shouted across the ship, taking the helm as his crew hoisted the sails, tied down the cargo, and pulled up the anchor. "Time for another long journey," Igneel mused, wishing more than anything that he was snuggled up with his brats on the couch telling them stories about the sea instead of living in one.

"So this is the Red Dragon's first trip to the neighboring continent?" Jude interrupted Igneel's daydreaming, unable to hold his tongue any longer. He was hesitant at first, seeing as how Igneel looked so serene staring up at the starry night sky, but the minutes had soon turned into hours and the silence was becoming unbearable for the social businessman.

"Mmm," Igneel hummed, adjusting the direction of the ship to starboard. "I'm surprised there aren't any ships out here. Seems a little too quiet."

As if rising from the sea itself, a ship drifted towards them, floating on the murky onyx waves. Attached to the mast was a black flag, embroidered with an extravagant emerald crown, rippling ominously in the wind.

"Captain! We've got a problem!" shouted a young man with panicked eyes and unruly brown hair. He nearly stumbled over his feet as he ran up the stairs trying to get to the Captain of the ship.

"Ian-" The words died on Igneel's tongue as the whole ship shook violently. The roars of many men could be heard not far off in the distance.

Jude turned to Igneel, concern furrowing his brow. "It couldn't possibly be."

Igneel shook his head, red ponytail swaying across the width of his back as he confirmed their worst fears. "Pirates."


	2. Chapter 1

"Young Lord," the messenger bowed when Zeref approached him. He was a short man compared to his brother and his hair was a rustic brown flattened from the hat that was now in his hands. Natsu stood beside his older brother staring at the nervous man curiously. "Your father's ship, the Red Dragon -" the man hesitated and began fidgeting with his hat. His gaze dropped to a spot on the ground, avoiding eye contact.

"What is it, Thomas?" Zeref encouraged in a soft voice. The man - who Natsu now knew as Thomas - brought his head up so quickly that it made the young boy dizzy. Thomas wore a glassy stare, almost as if he were about to burst into tears at any moment.

"Your father's ship was attacked by pirates." Thomas brought his hands up and buried his face into his hat. "Mr. Dragneel was a good man. I'm sor-" The man sobbed and Natsu could see that he was biting his lip from a small peak where his hat did not cover him. Thomas took in a shaky breath before he finished speaking. "He will be sorely missed."

The Dragneel brothers merely stared at the man who had just delivered the news about their father's death. Neither one could believe that someone as kind and loving as their father could just be taken away, but that was exactly what happened. Igneel Dragneel had been taken from this mortal plane without so much as a warning.

Natsu saw his older brother tremble from out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards him to say something - anything - but he was at a loss for words. The young boy looked down bitterly, clenching his fists at his sides. _If I had known,_ Natsu thought as he closed his eyes to keep the tears at bay, _I would have tried harder to make him stay._

His head snapped upwards when he heard a loud and painful thud. "Zeref!" Natsu yelled as he saw his brother on his knees trembling from the shock.

Before Natsu could move towards his beloved older brother, a piercing crackle of thunder had caught his attention. He looked out the large window to see dark clouds begin to blanket over the once bright and sunny sky. Natsu looked back toward his brother but was blinded by the heavy rain that was suddenly pouring into his eyes.

He squinted in an attempt to see through the downpour. He saw a fire, relentless against the rain, consume the once glorious galleon that he immediately recognized as the Red Dragon. Natsu fell and rolled to the side of the ship as a large wave crashed mercilessly against it. The ship teetered awkwardly as it tried to regain its already shaky balance on the restless ocean. He choked on the smell of gunpowder and the taste of salt from the seas endeavor to force the ship under her waves. He could hear the clash of metal, the rumble of the occasional thunder, and the screech of a man dying a painful death.

Natsu got up and grabbed on to the railing. He began stumbling towards the helm of the ship hoping he'd find his father there. He tucked his chin into his chest to keep the rain out of his eyes and dragged himself forward with the guidance of the railing. When he thought himself close enough to the bow of the ship, he opened his eyes and spotted two silhouettes.

In the middle of the upper deck, a battered man covered in blood was gripped by his mangled red ponytail and tossed mercilessly into the ship's side like a ragdoll. The attacker wore a hood to cover his sadistic sneer and blood red eyes from his unknowing prey. He chuckled darkly, grabbing the Captain by his right arm, which appeared to be bending outward at the elbow, dangling helplessly from its joint. The hooded figure's muscles in his exposed arms flexed, causing the tattooed blue symbols that spiraled up his arms to dance eerily across his skin. Almost as if they basked in the blood of the less fortunate.

The hooded stranger towering over Natsu's father raised his arm revealing a gun. A gun that was aimed straight for his dad's head. Igneel was slowly rising to his knees, his stubborn nature not allowing him to simply lay on the floor and submit to his inevitable fate. Natsu dragged his body forward fighting against the storm that seemed to be growing stronger with each passing moment. Not once did he look away from the morbid scene that was unfolding before him. He desperately wanted to yell out and warn his father but the words were stuck in his throat.

As if on cue, Igneel looked up and caught sight of his youngest son. With a confused look, he opened his lips to say something, but the words were drowned out by an angry boom of thunder. The lightning cast a sinister glow across the deck as Igneel dropped to the ground lifeless; unspoken words on the tip of his tongue and a bewildered look forever frozen on his face.

The wind picked up, ruffling the stranger's hood before whipping it off, unveiling a head of long silver hair. Natsu could see the man's sadistic smile looking over the body of what was once his father. The murderer's smile grew wider when Igneel's blood began to seep out of the bullet hole, mixing together with the water on the deck and sloshing over the tops of his boots.

He released an agonizing roar to the dark skies capturing the attention of the silver-haired man. Natsu collapsed onto his knees, crying out his anguish as two sets of heavy boots made their way towards him. Natsu placed his head onto his folded arms before he felt a hand rest gently atop his head.

He looked up in surprise to see his brother lying before him, complexion pale and body weak with fatigue. However, Zeref still managed a weary smile when he saw the astonishment on Natsu's face. "You're finally awake," he whispered.

He stared at the face of his little brother who was now anything but. His chin was more pronounced and his eyes sharper. Zeref could see the hairs on his brother's chin create a shadow that proved he was exhausted. Natsu liked to have a cleanly shaved face and the fact that he had neglected that meant he was plaguing himself with anxiety and incessant worry.

"You've grown," Zeref said as if he were seeing his younger brother for the first time. He placed the hand that was covering Natsu's hand on his cheek and examined the familiar features. "You look so much like him." He let out a hoarse laugh. "Where have the times gone?" Zeref's faint laughter soon turned into a watery cough.

"Zeref," Natsu whined softly as he reached for his brother, "just rest, ok? These doctors are the best around, so just let them help. Please, brother."

Zeref laid his head back on the pillow and smiled sadly at the ceiling. "I'm going to have to leave soon, little brother."

* * *

Natsu jolted upright in his bed, sweat clinging to his skin and uneven breaths escaping his chapped lips. Eighteen years had already passed, yet his recurring nightmare still haunted him. He wasn't even on the boat the day it happened, but the details were so vivid and sickeningly descriptive that sometimes he confused the dream with reality, terrified that he was being burned alive as his dad's ship was engulfed in ravenous flames.

He closed his eyes and took in a ragged breath, though the images continued to flash behind his closed eyelids. His fingers gripped the sheets and the muscles in his back flexed from over exhaustion.

He tried to focus on the howl of the wind whipping past the sides of the ship to ground himself back to the present. That is until he heard the unfamiliar click of heels against the wooden floor of his cabin.

Natsu leapt out of bed, mechanically grabbing his sword from his bedside and hastily attaching it to his belt as if he had been conditioned to handle unexpected intruders that crept into his chambers at night.

A soft giggle reverberated off the barren walls as he scanned the room for its source. His eyes instantly landed on a busty blonde leaning against his desk, wearing none other than his captain's hat.

"Looks better on me, don't ya think Captain?" said the intruder while twirling a piece of her golden hair around her pointer finger, confidently pushing off the desk to inspect the many news reports littering the back wall of his cabin.

"And what are you s'posed to be?" Natsu attempted to distract himself from her perusing only for his short temper to get the better of him almost instantly, causing him to pull some of the more personal articles down and away from her wandering eyes.

"If you haven't already figured it out then I must be doing my job well," said the blonde, seemingly pleased that it didn't take much to get a rise out of the hot-headed Captain.

Natsu grunted, "Who are you?"

The blonde smirked. "They call me Lucky."

"Lucky?" Natsu echoed while giving the blonde a perplexed look. Was that her name or was she saying that she was Lucky? Either way, he didn't really care. He just wanted her off his ship or wrapped up in his sheets.

Wait.

Where the hell did _that_ come from? Natsu internally slapped himself. Leave it to him to develop a fetish for blondes in Captain's hats at a time like this.

She ignored him and his inner battle, instead pulling a dagger from her boot and using it to clean underneath her fingernails, giving Natsu a wicked sneer when his eyes widened in suspicion.

Natsu snarled, crossing the room in three strides to slap the dagger out of her hand, and then pulled her flush against his body. "So you're here to kill me, then? You'll have to do better than that nail filer you call a weapon." His grip tightened on her hand. "You say your name is Lucky, but to have boarded _my_ ship, I'd say you're quite the opposite."

The blonde simply peered up at him from underneath her thick lashes, swiping her tongue slowly across her plump lips. She watched Natsu follow the movement like a cat. "Had I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."

Lucky pushed herself closer against him and slid her leg between his own, sparing an amused glance to his disheveled bedhead. "No, see, you said something quite fascinating in your sleep and if I'm being honest, you have me rather intrigued."

Natsu's hand twitched behind her back as he fought the urge to rip his hat off her head, even if it did look really good on her, not that he would ever admit that out loud. "And that was?"

Lucky slid the gloved fingers of her right hand up the indent of his spine, causing Natsu to suppress a shiver, favoring a growl in her face instead.

She smiled knowingly back at him. "Spriggan 12."

At that, Natsu practically tore his hat from her head and jerked away as if he had been burned by her touch, leaving the intruder seemingly stunned and confused. "What's it to ya?"

Lucky scowled and attempted to fix her now mangled hair using her reflection in the room's lone window. "Apparently, you really don't know what I am then."

Once she was seemingly pleased with her appearance again, she spun around to face him. She stared at him patiently for a moment before sighing out her frustration at his lack of perception. "I'm a pirate hunter."

Natsu stared blankly at her. "And?"

She turned her head away and muttered under her breath, "And you clearly are an idiot."

"Oi!" Natsu shot back defensively.

Lucky tapped her finger to her chin, ignoring his sudden protests. "You do realize the Spriggan 12 are pirates, right?"

He stopped his bickering as he began replaying the last part of their conversation over in his head, realization slowly dawning on him. "You mean, you're after the Spriggan 12, too?"

She nodded confidently. "I am." For a second, she lost her composure, clearly taken aback by the last part of his response. "Wait. 'Too?' What do you mean?"

"I'm after them, as is my crew," Natsu stated matter of factly.

Lucky tsked, golden locks swaying from side to side as she shook her head in disbelief. "I'll believe that when I see it. Anyway, been a pleasure talking to you, but I have more important places to be."

She strutted towards the door, only to backpedal into the room upon meeting the fierce looking redhead blocking her only exit.

Natsu cackled behind her, rather proud of himself for outwitting her, even though it was Erza who heard him yelling in his sleep and decided to go investigate. "I told ya before, Lucky. Your luck ran out the second you stepped foot on my ship." He glanced at his shipmate, sobering up enough to give out an order. "Tie her up until I figure out what to do with her."

Lucky gave Natsu a horrified expression before trying to make a break for it. Unfortunately for her, Erza knew what she was planning as she took a knife hand to the temple, knocking her out instantly.

Natsu looked to the unconscious blonde, a little disappointed she didn't put up more of a fight. He let a sigh escape through his nose as he stepped over her lifeless form. Once he made it to the door, he walked out onto the deck of his ship, Fairy Tail, and shouted, "Set sail for Magnolia!"

* * *

"Ah, so you're awake." Natsu popped his head out from the other side of the pole Lucky was tied to as she glared at him from the corner of her eye.

She looked down to see that her torso and hands were tightly bound to the mast in the center of the deck. "You can't be serious! What am I? Your prisoner?"

Natsu gave her an offended look, though his mouth twitched in apparent amusement. "Well, you did try to kill me."

Lucky said nothing as she began to hopelessly struggle against her makeshift prison.

Natsu looked to the horizon and let out a low whistle. "Damn. Hope you don't mind getting wet, there's a storm coming."

And as he was walking away, Lucky let out a groan of frustration, muttering a "heartless bastard" under her breath before once again, trying to untangle herself from the pole.

As soon as she was out of earshot though, Natsu pulled a rather intimidating man with facial piercings and jet black hair down to his waist aside. "Once we're far enough from Port Hargeon, untie her."

The black haired man raised a studded eyebrow. "You sure, runt? What if she tries to kill you again?"

Natsu just waved off the warning. "That's why you're going to keep an eye on her. If she does anything suspicious, you have my permission to have her walk the plank."

Gajeel let a sadistic sneer twist his lips as he gave Natsu a mock salute. He was such a sucker for the old 'walk the plank' punishment that it didn't take any persuading on Natsu's end to get Gajeel to play the role of an obedient guard dog. "Gihi. Aye aye, Captain."

* * *

Gajeel immediately made his way over to the blonde prisoner once Natsu returned to his quarters. Without so much as a hello, he gave the girl a scowl before turning his back to her and crossing his arms over his chest.

"And you are? What? A guard?" She snorted looking the tall man up and down. "Well, I'm flattered the Captain considers me threatening enough."

"Quiet, Wench!" Gajeel sneered at the cheeky woman. "I ain't afraid to throw ya."

"You don't scare me Mr. Tall, Dark, and Vicious." She glared defiantly up at the hulk of a man, though she seemed to have went pin straight against the mast in an effort to get as far away from him as possible.

Gajeel threw her a knowing glance. "Ya may talk big, but yer actions are tellin' me yer scared shitless."

Lucky scowled. The guy may look like a giant oaf, but he actually seemed quite perceptive. Outwitting him would certainly be a challenge, but what other choice did she have? "Instead of being an uncivilized swine, why don't you untie me and make your guest feel more welcomed?" She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously up at him, pushing her chest against the ropes in hopes of accentuating her assets. "How about a tour of this magnificent ship?"

Gajeel stared blankly at her before booming out a thunderous laugh that had a few of the crew members turning their heads in interest. "That kinda shit won't work on me, blondie. Not to mention, ye ain't my type." Gajeel stood straight, reaching into his back pocket to pull out a knife, "But I gotta admit, ya got balls."

The Pirate Hunter inched further away from the intimidating man prowling towards her with a knife. Nothing good ever came from an imposing figure coming at her with a weapon. She forced her hand into her back pocket hoping for something to fight back with; a concealed gun, a dagger - hell, anything! It wasn't until she came up empty that she really began to panic. She heard the man's footsteps and instinctively tucked her head into her chest. She closed her eyes waiting for a painful death, slightly regretting toying with the Captain, but the pain never came. All she felt was the rope that was keeping her prisoner loosen completely. She cracked open an eye to see Mr. Tall, Dark and Vicious kneeled down ready to cut the binds around her wrists and ankles.

 _Well, at least I'm not dead._ Lucky thought in relief while rubbing her sore wrists.

Gajeel, however, was already making his way down the stairs. "Ya still want that tour?" he threw over his shoulder carelessly, "Or ya want the men to throw ya overboard?"

Without another word, Lucky got up and began walking the path Gajeel had taken. After all, a tour was a lot less painful than being thrown into the unforgiving sea.

* * *

It didn't take much to get the blondie talking, Gajeel realized. He had spoken very few words about the workings of the ship when her eyes lit up. It was really weird watching a familiar expression on a stranger's face, yet oddly comforting.

"How do you know any of this anyway?" He decided to stop her tirade of questions that went unanswered because of her never-ending excitement. He looked down at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"I read it in this thing called a book," she quipped as she tilted her head up to meet his curious gaze, flipping the pages of an imaginary book. "You should try it sometime. They could teach you a thing or two Mr. Tall, Dark, and Vicious."

"Ok smart ass," Gajeel smirked. "You should meet my wife. You'd get along great."

"Really?" Lucky laughed. "If she's married to you then how great can she really be?"

"Oh, super! Yer both worms with an unnatural love for books and yer mouths are constantly a-yapping," he said with mirth in his eyes and a goofy grin on his lips.

Lucky took one look at the towering man's grin and began to laugh. It was nice to simply banter like old friends and just enjoy each other's company. Because for some unknown reason, she actually was enjoying this stranger's company. No talk about the war or the Spriggans or of her parent's passing. Gods, did she find it refreshing. Gajeel soon joined in and all that was heard throughout the halls were echoes of joy filled laughter.

"So," Lucky began to compose herself, "what exactly do you do here?"

"I keep it running smoothly," he answered without elaborating.

"Then you're an engineer of sorts," Lucky spoke slowly, hoping she could get him to explain.

"Nothing that fancy," Gajeel disregarded before crossing his arms, "I fix things that are broken like a carpenter."

The blonde stopped in her tracks staring at the tall pierced man in shock. "You know the entire layout of the ship. You oversee and operate the workings and structure of the entire ship. You were somehow able to combine the most efficient parts of a Hydrofoil warship and a jet engine all for the sake of speed."

"Well, when yer out on the sea doing illegal stuff ye gotta be able to run fast and - if ya haven't noticed - running's impossible on a ship. With all that upgrading the Navy's been doing, figured we needed one of our own," Gajeel smirked. "Ain't my fault they valued weapons over speed, the greedy bastards." The tall man let out an amused cackle before he continued walking towards the belly of the ship.

Before they could go any further, however, the red-haired woman from the night before called out for Gajeel. Getting a better look at her, Lucky noticed she was far more intimidating than the man standing next to her. She wore two swords, one attached to each hip, and her right eye was covered by an eyepatch.

"We'll need you on deck to dock the ship. Captain has some business in Magnolia so use this opportunity to restock on anything you may need. Once you're finished, be prepared to pull up anchor, we want to be ready in case the Royal Navy spots us," she ordered before leaving just as quickly as she had come.

"Aye," Gajeel responded out of habit to the woman's back.

Lucky tried not to think about it, she really did, but her curious nature refused to just leave the matter of the Pirate Captain's business unsolved. What could be so important that he would just dock in Magnolia? - a place that was under the protection of the Royal Navy. And the Royal Navy was not particularly known for their fondness of pirates, quite the opposite in fact.

"Um, I have some personal business to attend to." She began to excuse herself while walking back the way they had come, "Do you mind?"

"Don't get caught," Gajeel grunted before he left to perform his assigned duties.

Lucky turned to smile appreciatively at the man's back before beginning her search for the Captain of the ship. Maybe some pirates weren't so bad after all.

* * *

 _Natsu cursed under his breath as his regiment was given another mundane tugboat assignment. "Do we ever get to do anything important?"_

 _The raven-haired teen standing beside him snickered. "Helping someone stranded in the middle of nowhere is important, you moron."_

" _What do you know? You're just another trainee, Gray! We need to be tackling the real issue," Natsu spat between clenched teeth, fighting the urge to punch him._

 _Gray rolled his eyes but decided to humor him. "And what's that?"_

 _Natsu's eyes widened and his mouth parted like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Pirates, duh."_

 _Gray groaned. He should have known. After what happened to Natsu's father, it was understandable that that was all Natsu could think about._

" _There are other crucial tasks a Navy does. In fact, pirate hunting isn't very high on the list as of late. Ever since that raid ten years ago-" Gray trailed off, worried he may have lit the fuse on Natsu's short temper._

 _Natsu balled his fists at his sides and dropped his gaze to his feet. "Well, they're wrong. They are the biggest threat."_

 _Gray let out a strangled breath, thankful that Natsu was attempting to keep his composure. "If you want to hunt down pirates so bad, why not just, I don't know, become a pirate?"_

 _Natsu's head snapped up and a crooked smile began to creep onto his face. "Gray! I thought you were just some pretty boy with ice for brains, but that's actually genius!"_

 _Gray facepalmed. "I was joking, dumbass! There's no way you can make it as a pirate! Besides, if you do that, we'll be enemies!"_

 _Natsu cackled. "What makes you think we aren't enemies already? You don't think I can make it as a pirate?" Natsu challenged as he broke formation and snuck his way to the back of the group, looking back at his friend one last time. "Watch me."_

He couldn't help but remember the last time he had seen Gray. Who would ever believe that Captain Natsu Dragneel of the Fairy Tail had become a notorious pirate because of a current respected Navy Official's passing comment. He chuckled as he remembered his genius plan to debut as a pirate. It certainly wasn't easy taking out an entire fleet before he had made off with one of their ships. How he managed to escape with his life that day was still a mystery, but he did and the look on Gray's face as he sailed away was much too priceless to ever forget.

Natsu looked up to see the main base of the Royal Navy. Knowing Gray and how fond he was of the sea, there was no way he would have settled for anything less than a grand ocean view. Sneaking past some of the guards patrolling the outside parameter, Natsu made his way to the side of the building facing the port. His eyes scanned the various windows in hopes of finding the sign he and Gray had agreed upon.

It wasn't hard to spot Gray's silver cross necklace dangling from the latch of one of the windows, glimmering in the setting sun. Leave it to Gray to have the biggest fucking window. It's not like some suspicious guy in a pirate getup scaling the wall would draw any attention.

Nope.

Deep down Natsu wondered if his old friend actually wanted him to get caught.

* * *

"Yo," a bare-chested man wearing a long overcoat and a crimson tricorn greeted as he came in through the large window.

"It's about time," First Sergeant Gray Fullbuster responded without ever looking up from his riffling. He would recognize that voice anywhere despite the fact of it being years since he last heard it. Natsu Dragneel was a good friend - his best friend if he was perfectly honest - and he would admit that to anyone save for the man in question. "I was beginning to think the sea had finally gotten the best of you."

"She never will," The Pirate Captain began with a smirk as he sat comfortably in the chair in front of his friend. "She knows I still have some business to settle."

"Ah, so you and the sea have come to an understanding?" the Sergeant questioned as he looked up at the Captain with a cocked eyebrow.

"Of course!" Natsu exclaimed dramatically. "It's why I'm still here."

Gray sniggered. "Well, isn't that uncharacteristically kind of her. Everyone knows that the sea is a cruel mistress."

"Yes, well, the will to live is stronger than anything else in this world," Natsu responded softly, "Once you've given that up, you die. I've been lucky to have lived my life as a free man on the sea."

"A free man?" Gray grunted in amusement before returning to his previous affairs. "I could only ever dream of being a free man. I'm afraid I've bound my life to protect others. However, I do not regret my decision."

"It's not too late, you know?" said Natsu in that same gentle tone.

"I beg your pardon?" Gray asked hoping against hope that his friend wasn't implying what he thought he was.

"You can still do something drastic and have the whole army want you dead." Natsu leaned forward as though he were about to share one of his plans of doing something incredibly outrageous and stupid.

"Like they do with you?" Gray silently recalled the reason for the army's hatred for the man. "If it's all the same to you, I prefer the life of not worrying for my own each day." He shook his head before walking over to the Pirate Captain and handing him the reason for his being there.

"You know," Natsu began in a careful tone as he reached for the parchment, "If you ever find yourself running from the law, there's always room for you on my ship."

"The Fairy Tail?" Gray responded as he walked back to lean on his work desk. Natsu simply nodded and fondly smiled at his old friend. "No, I don't think I could ever become a pirate," Gray continued with a chuckle.

"Sure you can! Anyone can! I did!" Natsu exclaimed proudly.

"Yes, but you're insane!" Gray teased.

"Oi!" Natsu yelled, insulted, while the First Sergeant of the Navy laughed merrily.

"However, in all seriousness," Gray began once more after calming down, "I don't think I could ever do what you're doing. My father was a respected official of the Royal Navy and I would hate to drag his good name through the mud. Our hatred for the Spriggan Pirates is where our similarities end, Natsu. You walk along the path you've chosen and I'll walk mine."

Natsu looked at his old friend and he could see that the stress of searching had aged him some. Gray's once bright and hopeful face was now weary from disappointment and time. His dark blue eyes, that were once filled with inexhaustible excitement and pride, were now a clouded gray from experiencing a life no ordinary twenty-six year old should have to endure. If there was one thing Natsu understood, it was that war was never pleasant and death was blind.

"Well, you don't have to develop any more wrinkles, old man 'cause I'll take all twelve of them out for the both of us," Natsu spoke as he rose from his seat and made his way toward the exit. "Thanks for sharing the information you've been able to gather. I'll make sure to put it to good use," he waved the parchment.

"Just promise me one thing," Gray said before Natsu's hand could touch the latch of the window, "Promise me you'll at least give me something of those bastards."

Natsu turned his head to look at his old friend. "Of course. I promise to hand over their cold, lifeless bodies." He looked down at the parchment in his left hand and stared at the unfamiliar personalized Navy symbol. He brought it up to examine the seal more closely before turning to his old friend with a question on his lips.

"It's Juvia's," Gray shrugged.

"I see you haven't been doing your job," Natsu snorted in amusement while waving the rolled up piece of paper around. "Give Mrs. Fullbuster my regards."

Before Gray could say anything more, the Captain of the Fairy Tail crew was gone. Leaving no trace of the fact that he had ever been in the company of a respected Royal Navy Officer.

* * *

Natsu landed outside the window with a dull thud, parchment safely tucked away in his coat pocket as he took to the shadows.

After a few moments of picking up on the soft click-clack of heels on pavement, however, he realized he'd been followed. Natsu turned to the blonde stalking not too far behind him. Irritation coated his tongue, though he was anything but. In fact, he was actually a little impressed she managed to stay hidden for as long as she had. "It's unbecoming of a lady to eavesdrop, Lucky."

Lucky ignored his snarky remark. "What business do you have with the Royal Navy?"

Natsu pulled out the parchment, briefly waving it over his shoulder before stuffing back into his pocket. "Got some dirt on the Spriggans."

Lucy's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "So it's true then? You really are after the Spriggan 12?"

Natsu shrugged as he continued to walk towards the reef that hid his ship. "I wasn't lying when I told you the first time."

Lucky stumbled into step beside him, eyes filled with unanswered questions. "To go as far as teaming up with the enemy to take them down, though?" She placed a hand upon his shoulder in hopes of slowing him down. "Just what exactly did they do for you to carry such a vendetta?"

Natsu didn't respond right away, debating whether or not he wanted to reopen old wounds. "It's - complicated."

Lucky scoffed and stepped in front of him. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm quite resourceful. I'm sure I can keep up."

Natsu scratched the back of his neck, avoiding her inquisitive eyes. "They just - aren't good people."

Lucky tapped her foot impatiently and crossed her arms over her chest, clearly not pleased by his vague explanation.

He sighed, deciding that if he ever wanted to get back to the ship before dawn, it was best to attempt to appease her insatiable appetite for knowledge. "You remember that raid fifteen years ago? You know, the one on the Galleon ship, the Red Dragon?"

Lucky's eyes widened slightly, but she looked down before Natsu could be sure. She brought her clenched fists to her stomach before tightly wrapping her arms around herself. She looked out to where the ship was docked to avoid any eye contact with the Captain before meekly nodding her head, encouraging him to continue.

"Well, the captain of that ship, Igneel, was my father." Natsu shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unsure if his discomfort was from reliving the memory or how easily he was able to open up to the mysterious blonde. "After pops died, my older brother, Zeref, became severely depressed. He wouldn't eat, sleep, or talk to anyone." He fisted the parchment in his pocket. "Not long after, he'd fallen gravely ill and being too weak to fend it off, he passed away."

Lucky spun around abruptly and started walking back towards the ship. "It's getting late. Let's head back, we don't need to talk about this anymore if you don't want to."

Natsu started walking behind her, warmed by her attempt to give him a way out of the conversation if he didn't wish to continue. "It doesn't bother me as much as it used to. It's made me who I am, given me a reason to live."

Lucky turned back to look at him, a soft smile spreading across her glossed lips. "Well then, we can talk more when we get back to the Fairy Tail. If you want to, that is."

Natsu flashed her a toothy grin and nodded as they continued walking side by side in comfortable silence.

When they were back onboard, Natsu filled the night with funny stories from his childhood, when he would sneak onto the Galleon and pretend to be part of Igneel's crew. He told her that he joined the navy to get his hands on a cure for his brother since they had more access to rare medicines than the general public did. That's also where he met his frenemy, Gray, and that it was because of him that he was now a pirate.

"Now, I am the best swordsman that sails these waters. No doubt about that," Natsu crowed behind a cocky sneer, pride and confidence emanating off him in waves.

"I can take you," Lucy responded back nonchalantly while stretching her arms up and over her head.

Natsu snarled playfully, unsheathing his rapier and tossing it from his left to right hand. "Is that a challenge, Lucky?"

Lucky turned towards him, hair cascading over her shoulder like a golden waterfall reflecting in the sunlight. "Just a fact, Captain."

Natsu flicked a stray strand of hair over her shoulder with the tip of his sword. "Care to test that theory?"

Lucky's eyes darkened as they landed on his weapon lingering dangerously close to the soft skin at the base of her neck. Wordlessly, she pulled a dagger from its casing attached to her thigh, gracefully flexing her muscles into a more suitable stance for battle.

Natsu scoffed, dropping his guard slightly. "Really, Lucky? Only a dagger again?"

Lucy took that split second to catch him off guard, coiling her body like a spring and lunging forward. Her dagger slid up the metal shaft of his weapon while her free hand twisted his wrist forcefully against the momentum of her dagger's movement, causing him to lose his grip as his sword clattered to the floor. She immediately followed up with a well-placed elbow to his nose and with a swift flick of her ankle, laid Natsu flat out on his ass.

Natsu cursed as he wiped the blood dripping from his nose off of his lips. He tried to act offended, really he did, but he couldn't seem to hide the overwhelming feeling of fondness and admiration that rattled him to his very core. "That was a lucky shot."

Lucy simpered triumphantly. "And now you know why they call me Lucky, my Captain."

Something about the warmth of her smile and the way she had said _My Captain_ had his heart pounding against his ribcage like a million fireworks shooting adrenaline off into his veins.

She turned her back to him and waved a hand over her shoulder as she headed in for the night. "Though I can't really call myself a pirate hunter anymore seeing as I'm part of the Fairy Tail crew, now can I?"

Natsu's pulse quickened, thumping loudly in his ears, his tone hopeful. "You mean, you're gonna join us, Lucky?"

Only stopping once her hand was on the handle of the door that led inside, she bit back a smile of her own. "Call me Lucy, Captain." And with that, she swiftly opened the door and scooted inside without another word.

Natsu, still in his sitting position, flopped backward onto the deck and looked up towards the night sky. "Lucy." He tested the word on his tongue, growling happily when he decided he really liked the taste.


	3. Chapter 2

Natsu woke up from his first good night's rest in what felt like years, shrugging on his overcoat and grabbing his sword to latch onto his belt. He pulled on his boots and marched out the door, whistling a sea shanty he used to hear his father's crew sing when he was but a small boy.

"You're awfully chipper this morning, Natsu," Erza noticed, clearly amused that the normally grumpy Captain had way more pep in his step than usual.

"Just got a good night's rest is all," Natsu shot back defensively, crossing his arms across his chest and turning his head away like a small child being scolded for blatantly having his hand in the cookie jar.

"I spent some time with Lucy this morning. I must say, she's quite the fighter." She stroked her chin and nodded in approval, a crazed expression crawling over her face, much like the one she wears when she's eating strawberry cheesecake. "We had a duel. It ended in a draw."

Natsu damn near swallowed his tongue. Someone had come close to besting the fearless Titania Erza? He recalled his quick and slightly embarrassing match the night before. Lucy certainly had skill. He also had no doubt she would put up a hell of a fight against Erza. Damn, would he have liked to see that fight.

Erza eyed him suspiciously, growing skeptical when she spotted the obvious blush sprouting over the bridge of his nose and coloring his cheeks. "Are you certain your change in mood doesn't have anything to do with a certain blonde that joined our ranks recently?"

An unfamiliar surge of warmth welled up in his stomach and his childish facade crumbled into a blubbering mess when his brain snagged on Erza's blatant, albeit spot on accusation, opting to make himself busy with the trimming the sails instead of giving the observant redhead an adequate response.

Erza called out after him, trying hopelessly to alert the Captain, whose attention span rivaled that of a two-year-old, that they were almost to their final destination. "By the way, Natsu, we should be to the Spriggan's hideout within the hour." She squinted her eyes to inspect the water up ahead for any ships who threatened to break through their defenses. "Keep your guard up."

Erza's last comment never reached his ears, though. He seemed to have already been sidetracked by the appearance of his very distracting new crew member. She was standing portside, leaning against the side of the ship, looking out to sea with such a forlorn expression that it had his heart clenching painfully with each uneasy step he took towards her.

"Hey," Natsu greeted softly, hands held up in surrender as to not startle her, before taking a spot right next to her. Lucy smiled back at him, but it didn't meet her eyes. It was nothing like the one she had given him the night before.

Natsu licked his dry lips, attempting to calm his nerves. "You know, you never told me why exactly you were after the Spriggan 12. I know you're a pirate hunter and all, but-" he paused in his rant, hoping that he hadn't offended her or made her uncomfortable with his genuine curiosity.

When she made no effort to answer his question, he sighed, taking the moment to instead think before speaking for once. "Whenever they're mentioned, there's a familiar pain in your eyes. I would know, I've been living with it for eighteen years," he said, hoping that she would understand his sympathy. "Besides, you don't hide it very well."

His words must have hit struck a chord because the look she gave Natsu afterward said it all. There was something Lucy wasn't telling him. Something tragic that left a scar she tried to bury deep underneath her hardened mask. Natsu looked away, ashamed he had even brought it up. "Sorry-"

"Both my mother and father were on the Red Dragon that day," Lucy interrupted, unshed tears making her eyes glossy as the rays of light bouncing off the waves reflected onto their shiny surface. "They were so busy with their jobs that I hadn't seen them for nearly a month before it happened." Lucy's voice cracked as she gripped the railing, trying to keep her emotions under control.

Without even thinking, Natsu pulled her into a hug, resting a hand on the back of her head as she began crying into his shoulder. "They're going to pay for this, Lucy. I'll make sure of that." He squeezed her closer to his chest in an attempt to try and comfort her. "What were their names?"

Lucy sniffled as she steadied her breathing, wiping the tears that continued to fall onto her cheeks with the backs of her hands. "Jude and Layla Heartfilia."

Something about their names felt so familiar to Natsu. Like he had heard them somewhere before. He recalled Heartfilia from the newspaper clipping as he had it memorized word for word, but even then something about the name unsettled him. He just never really had a reason to give it much thought.

He sifted through his forgotten childhood memories trying to grasp onto something, _anything,_ that could bring the blonde he had grown so fond of, some form of comfort. And just like his feelings for her, the reason he knew the Heartfilia's came just as quickly.

Jude Heartfilia was Igneel's best friend. He would always come over with his wife in between deliveries. They would sit down and drink tea that his young mind associated with wet leaves and mud pies. His dad would constantly ask them to bring Lucy over the next time they had any downtime. Layla was enthusiastic about it, but according to Jude, no man was good enough for his beloved daughter.

Natsu chuckled despite the emotional atmosphere, though he quickly bit his tongue upon seeing Lucy's death stare. He let out an awkward cough. "I was just thinking about how my pops and your parents were really good friends."

Lucy's sour expression morphed into childlike joy as she peaked up at Natsu. "Really?"

Natsu nodded at her, a crooked smile of his own finding its way across his lips. "In fact, Igneel wanted to hook us up. He said we'd be good for each other."

Lucy scowled and pulled herself out of his arms. "I doubt that! My dad was a businessman. You'd have to have been a dignified, wealthy man. Not some dirty skeeving pirate!"

Natsu let out a roar of laughter. "Your mother adored me. I'm sure your dad would have come around eventually." Natsu pulled her back in again, lifting her chin gently with his right hand, guiding her face upwards until her lips were mere inches from his own, while his left hand rested on the small of her back. "'Sides, don't you know you should always listen to your parents?"

"And your listening skills seemed to have deteriorated with all that testosterone flooding your veins. Haven't you heard us calling for you?" Erza jabbed while trying to hide her embarrassed flush as she realized she had interrupted a rather intimate moment between the two, earning Natsu a rough smack to the back of the head. For being a perv or a poor Captain, he wasn't entirely sure. "We have an intruder. Keep it in your pants," she half-huffed, half-mumbled, grabbing hold of his ear and yanking him away from Lucy to march off towards the commotion in the ship's hold.

As Lucy trailed behind them, she spotted one of the younger crewmates, a small girl with long blue hair in pigtails, sitting in an unlit corner with her knees to her chest, chanting, "Not here, not again. Please make it stop," as she rocked back and forth helplessly. Lucy's usual hard exterior shattered at the sight and she instinctively rushed towards the frightened girl, cradling her to her chest and gently stroked her hair. "It'll be alright, sweetie. There are tons of talented fighters here who will keep you safe."

"I don't want them to hurt my new family," the little girl rasped out, using her stuffed white cat to wipe the snot from her nose.

Lucy clicked her tongue and bopped the child's nose playfully. "With me here, they won't have a chance."

The girl looked up hesitantly before grinning brightly at Lucy, giggling softly when she considered Lucy's words. "You remind me of big brother."

Lucy eyed her curiously. "And who would that be?" the girl pointed towards Natsu, still squirming and flailing in an attempt to get out of Erza's chokehold.

"Is that so?" she pondered, now more than ever, grateful that she didn't go through with killing him a few nights ago.

Erza finally let go of Natsu and now that he wasn't screaming at the top of his lungs like an 'overdramatic imbecile' as she so dubbed him, he noticed that he could no longer hear the click of Lucy's boots echoing behind him. He discreetly glanced over his shoulder, in fear of Erza beating him up lest he gets distracted again. His eyes fell on her sitting form, comforting his youngest crew member, Wendy.

If there was any other doubt he had about his mysterious new companion, it melted away at that moment; very much like how his heart did in the same instant. When this was all over, he was going to do everything in his power to make Lucy a permanent part of the odd bunch he now called a family.

"Oi, Lucy! You coming or what?" Natsu shouted out after a few moments of obvious staring, a little reluctant to break up their little moment. Lucy glanced up at him before looking back down at the girl cradled in her arms, hesitant to leave her alone.

The young girl shook her head. "I'm fine, now. I will help patch up the wounded." She stood up and dried off the rest of her tears with the back of her arm. "I'm not afraid because I'm Wendy of the Fairy Tail pirates."

Lucy simpered at the brave little pirate standing before her. "Okay." She pulled herself up to her feet, bending at the waist to be at Wendy's eye level. "If you run into any trouble though, I want you to hide."

Wendy nodded and returned Lucy's smile tenfold. "Promise."

Lucy patted Wendy's head before turning on her heel to catch up to Natsu. Erza had seemed to have gone on ahead leaving Lucy and Natsu to investigate on their own. Lucky for them, they knew where to start looking because as soon as Lucy caught up with the Captain, a loud explosion went off directly below them.

The duo shared a horrified glance before bolting down the staircase to the middle deck.

* * *

Natsu ducked underneath the broken beam that once supported the hallway in order to get an assessment of the damage done to the ship's galley. The entire room had been split in half, almost as if a meteor had come crashing through the floorboards, shattering and splintering wood in every direction. The fridge doors had snapped off its hinges and the kitchen sink was spouting water out of the hole that the faucet was once attached to.

"For fuck's sake. Thank God this didn't happen on the lower deck or we'd have sunk for sure." Natsu grumpily mumbled while accidentally tripping on a bottle of milk that must have fallen out of the now exposed refrigerator. He kicked it aside to vent his frustration, scowling bitterly when it splattered milk on his boots in the process.

"What on earth could have done this?" Lucy spoke in a breathy voice, revealing her awe as she took in the destruction done to the ship's kitchen.

Natsu dug through some of the wreckage, praying he didn't stumble upon any of the crew. "I'm not entirely sure. I knew some of the Spriggan 12 were strong, but this seems inhuman."

For the first time since this all started, Natsu actually took a moment to consider what they were up against. Panic started to take hold of his reality, pulling him down into a hole he knew he wouldn't get out of if he didn't get a grip. It was like being drenched in the frigid sea water and then being pulled down by the weight of your weapons and soaked clothes. The sea would claim you, never to see the light of dawn again. He clutched onto what was left of the counter to keep himself from stumbling to his knees from the weight of his realization.

Would they even survive this?

"Hey," Lucy cooed softly, placing a gentle but firm hand onto his bicep. "This is what we've been waiting for. What you've been preparing for." She tugged on his arm so that he was facing her when she realized he wasn't even listening to her.

Natsu glanced down at her pale hand resting upon his tan skin before gliding his eyes up her arm to her face. The look she was giving him was fierce and determined, a smoldering fire in their depths that he couldn't seem to pull away from. "Stop doubting yourself and your crew. Have some faith in them."

Lucy was right. He couldn't have doubts. Not now. Hell, not ever. His crew was relying on him. She was relying on him. He nodded, placing his own hand over the one she still had resting on his arm. "You're right."

"I usually am." Lucy raised an incredulous eyebrow like she was stating the most obvious thing in the world.

"Let's split up and find the bastards who did this before they really fucking sink us," Natsu ordered, ignoring her snarky comment.

"Roger. Be careful, Captain," Lucy warned, trying to sound casual, but the way her hand slightly trembled underneath his own told another story.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're worried about me," Natsu teased, seeming to pick up on her poorly hidden distress and instead trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, it's a good thing you know better," she sassed back, not skipping a beat.

"Oh, don't worry. I already know you think I'm sexy," Natsu purred as he crossed his arms across his chest confidently, somewhat back to his old audacious self.

"Nats-" Lucy began only to be interrupted before she even got the word out.

"You want to daaaate me," Natsu sang while dramatically swaying his hips to his own tune.

Lucy sashayed up to him, the rest of his makeshift song dying on his lips as he took in her lust filled expression. Her teeth worried at her bottom lip, playfully grabbing the collar of his coat and pulling him flush against herself only to reach up and pluck his hat off, placing it on her own head instead. "I'll take this as payment for forcing me to watch that."

"Oi. Don't go getting yourself killed and losing my hat," he growled, annoyed that she was once again stealing his Captain hat, though this time he made no effort to take it back.

"Need I remind you of my nickname?" she responded in a pseudo-haughty voice.

He sighed, certainly not needing a reminder seeing as he called her by her nickname up until a day ago. "Just find Erza and search the rest of this floor. I'll check the lower deck."

"Aye, Aye, Captain," Lucy cheekily tipped her hat, well _his_ hat, to him before she sauntered off to carry out his orders.

* * *

After searching the entire starboard side of the middle deck, Lucy finally managed to find Erza, who appeared to be covered in some kind of black residue, missing one of her swords, and her skin littered with minor scrapes and bruises.

"Ah, Erza! There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you-" Lucy paused, momentarily taking in her surroundings. The mid cabin sleeping quarters looked very much like the galley had except instead of food scattered about the floor, there were feathers and torn sheets thrown astray. Even two of the portholes had been smashed, letting in a bone chilling sea breeze and decorating the floor with broken shards of glass. "What the hell happened?"

"I captured one of the intruders." Erza dragged the man out from behind her back and tossed him at Lucy's feet. "He was quite the handful."

He had matted brown hair and a peculiar tattoo crawling up his chin line. His clothes were covered in a black sooty substance much like Erza's were. He also didn't seem to be carrying a sword. _Did he excel in hand to hand combat? He doesn't really have the physique for it._ Lucy thought to herself, unable to figure out how this man could have possibly destroyed the entire middle deck of their ship.

Somehow, Lucy got the feeling that all this damage wasn't just from the intruder. From the looks of things, it seemed like Erza hadn't held back, even at the expense of damaging their ship. She shuddered, making another mental note to definitely not get on Erza's bad side. Perhaps Erza was going easy on her during their duel.

"The problem is, he seems to have brought bombs to a sword fight," Erza pondered, hand resting against her chin, deep in her own thoughts.

"Bombs?" Lucy's jaw dropped, completely flabbergasted that a selfish pirate would risk blowing himself up just to get rid of a measly little crew. "You don't think he's actually planted some onboard, do you?" She gasped, hoping that their foe wasn't actually that cunning.

Unfortunately, Erza seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "It's quite possible. I'm going to drop this scoundrel off with Warren to be interrogated and then form a search party to run a thorough inspection of the ship just to be on the safe side."

Erza began carelessly dragging the unconscious man down the corridor. "Do me a favor and find Natsu. He doesn't think clearly when the Spriggan 12 are involved."

Lucy scowled. Of course, she'd end up going on a wild goose chase only to end up back at square one; babysitting the Captain.

* * *

Making her way down to the lower deck turned out to be quite the challenge. One of the explosions had taken out the entire staircase on portside, while on the starboard side, there was so much debris blocking the path that Lucy didn't even think Wendy would be able to squeeze by. Perhaps the ship's cat, Happy, would be able to, but that's where easy access would end.

Lucy sighed as she paced back and forth in front of the corridor that once held the staircase on portside, racking her brain on a way to get down to the lower floor. Was Natsu even able to make it down there himself? Granted, he was the Captain of this ship and certainly knew it inside and out, but she didn't see any other logical way of getting to the third floor. Unless of course, you were some sort of jungle man swinging from a rope in nothing but a loincloth. Lucy sighed again. Unsurprisingly, she could see Natsu doing just that, blushing a little when she pictured the Captain in the outfit to play the part.

She smacked her blushing cheeks roughly in a desperate attempt to get her mind back on the task at hand. If she was able to find some rope long and sturdy enough to tether herself to then she would be able to lower herself. Maybe. There was always the possibility that she could fall to her death and the fact that there was not a single piece of rope around.

Lucy groaned in frustration from her less than innocent thoughts of her Captain and the lack of ideas on how to get to the engine room.

"It's rather unfortunate, isn't it? My partner never was one to do things half assed," a suave voice spoke from behind her.

Lucy jumped at the unexpected intrusion of her thoughts and let out a girlish squeal while thanking her lucky stars that none of the crew had heard. She never would have lived that down.

Standing before he was a man with a shaved head, a large imposing nose, and beady little eyes that resembled those of conniving rat. He wore an expensive suit with a pair of designer shoes, though the sleeves were wrinkled and rolled to his elbows hinting at his lack of sanity.

Panic ripped the air from her lungs. She hadn't even heard him come up behind her. How long had he been standing there, watching her? A chill ran up her spine as red warning signs flashed behind her mind's eye. This was definitely someone she didn't want to have to face alone.

The man's face twisted in what appeared to be disgust, although an embarrassed flush colored his bony cheeks. "Women should not dare wear something so inappropriate." One hand came up to his face, dramatically shielding his eyes. "You leave nothing to the imagination!"

Lucy's right eye twitched as she processed the intruder's words. Was he really lecturing her on how to be a 'proper woman'? Men born of societal norms were sticklers for propriety and more than happy to force those on free-spirited women. "Lucky for me, I'm not some woman blindly conforming to the stereotypes men like you have created." Lucy scoffed, unable to resist the urge to defend herself. "I have my own form of class."

Without a second thought, she removed her hidden dagger from her boot and lunged at the man. She hoped that she would be able to use the surprise attack to her advantage. Just one precise hit and he would be down for the count. Frankly, she wasn't interested in figuring out just how powerful he really was.

Unfortunately, the man seemed to have picked up on her movements and blocked a precise stab to his jugular at the last second, disarming her and twisting her arm brutally behind her back with ease and speed that would give the unsuspecting whiplash.

Lucy gritted her teeth as she attempted to pull herself out of his ironclad grip without breaking her arm in the process. She kicked her right leg up behind herself blindly, hoping she would land a cheap shot between his legs.

The intruder laughed over her shoulder, she could feel his hot breath tickle the back of her neck. "Tell me, Wench." Lucy cringed as the man's spit drenched her shoulder and ear. "Did you think when you woke up today, that you would die by the hands of Jacob of the Spriggan Pirates?"

Jacob exhaled out a low chuckle as Lucy continued to hopelessly struggle and thrash against him. "You know, you look just like your mother." Grabbing a fistful of hair, he yanked her head back to get a better look at her face. "Though she was much more tasteful. What an elegant woman she was."

Lucy went stock still in his hold, anger clouding her vision and adrenaline boiling the blood racing through her veins. She clenched her white-knuckled fists hard enough for her nails to bite through the skin of her palms. "So, you knew my mother."

"Such a shame." He ignored her statement in favor of continuing his twisted reminiscing. "She wasn't very beautiful when I watched her frantically call out for her daughter as she burned alive."

Her body had acted on its own as her blind rage fueled her fluid movements. She thrust her head back into his nose with an audible crack. When his hands let go of her wrists to clutch his now broken nose, she rammed her left elbow into his esophagus.

Jacob stumbled back, eyes still watering from the hit to his nose as he began wheezing. Blood splattered on the floor and down his neck, soaking the collar of his white undershirt. "You bitch," he choked out, forcing the air down his throat despite the pain. He placed both of his hands on his nose prepared to set it. "You're going to regret that," he growled as he popped his nose back into place.

The Spriggan Pirate pulled out a throwing knife and hurled it with such speed and precision, that Lucy barely had any time to react, let alone try and dodge it. Instead, she threw her arms up defensively, hoping to avoid sustaining any serious injuries. The clang of metal caused her to daringly peek up and over her arms, confused as to why she had remained unharmed. She was greeted by a fluff of unruly pink hair as Natsu stood protectively before her, having deflected the knife with his own blade.

"You ok?" Natsu asked, tension and worry causing his words to come out huskier than usual, though his eyes never left the enemy's. She could almost taste the anger that was radiating off of him.

"Just a few scrapes and bruises, Captain," Lucy attempted to keep her usual sass, but she couldn't hide the overwhelming feeling of relief upon seeing Natsu.

Natsu nodded, his grip on his sword tightening upon hearing the unusual edge to Lucy's voice. "Can't say the same about this guy."

Saying Natsu was pissed was an understatement. He was like a completely different person when he was fighting seriously. His usual accurate and smooth movements had turned feral and unpredictable. The force behind his swings was enough to have the intruder backpedal a few steps each time their weapons clashed as his emotions guided his sword instead of his instincts.

Lucy bit her lip as she continued to watch the battle unfold. A strange feeling of worry blossoming in her chest as she watched Natsu grow more and more reckless; carelessly springing forward while barely managing to dodge a fatal blow to the head. At this rate, there was no doubt in her mind he was heading towards an early grave.

"Why bother protecting that despicable wench?" Jacob questioned, bemused as to why the ship's Captain was trying so hard to protect someone so easily replaced. "Don't tell me you actually like such an audacious and presumptuous woman?"

"Less talking," Natsu spat, biting down on the inside of his cheek. He refused to give the bastard the satisfaction of getting under his skin. Unfortunately, Natsu's tone gave way to his bottled up feelings as did the unnatural force behind his follow upswing.

"Do you fantasize about her?" Jacob's mouth dropped open, unabashed of his dubious assumptions. "I suppose she paints the picture for you since she practically walks around in the nude, anyway." He clicked his tongue, a look of revulsion scrunching up his already pug-like face.

"I'm right here, you know!" Lucy shouted, mortified. She was growing tired of this poor excuse of a human being, not to mention the constant flapping of his loose lips. Though she had to admit, she was slightly grateful. Without his constant need to belittle her, she'd be lacking the ambition to thoroughly kick his ass. Otherwise, she'd still be sitting helplessly on the sidelines as Natsu fought the battle for her.

Turns out even with the two of them teamed up, he was still holding his own. At one point, however, Natsu had pulled Lucy flush against himself to save her from getting a solid kick to the back of the head. In this case, the gesture was strictly platonic, but Jacob had made the mistake of letting his imagination get the best of him. "You two are so bold!" The easily flustered Spriggan shouted, appalled, turning his head away in an attempt to keep his warped sense of innocence.

He was practically wearing a sign on his back that read 'kick me. Natsu and Lucy shared a glance before turning back towards their now wide open enemy. Without saying a word to each other, the duo synchronized their movements. Natsu aimed high, punching him in the chin while Lucy dipped low and kneed him in the groin, effectively knocking him out with one well-timed combo.

"So, about seeing you naked," Natsu panted, his tone playful as he crumbled to the ground, spreading himself out and closing his eyes as he fell victim to his fatigue.

"Natsu..." Lucy groaned tiredly, though she made no effort to argue with him.


	4. Chapter 3

"Natsu Dragneel, are you slacking off while there are intruders on board?" A steel toed boot met the side of his head, kicking it a few times with a little more force than necessary in an attempt to get his attention.

"No ma'am!" Natsu shot up pin straight, the anger boiling over in the woman's tone pulling him abruptly out of his impromptu nap.

"Does it not concern you that we are having engine troubles?" Erza's glare was piercing as she stood there menacingly with her hands glued to her hips. Even though the woman was a good three inches shorter than him, her presence towered over her fearful Captain.

"What?" Her words brought him up short. Whether Natsu's confusion was from the grogginess of just waking up or because of his inability to comprehend that such a thing could happen at a crucial time like this, he wasn't sure. Maybe a little bit of both.

"Gajeel has been working on it for the past hour. Unfortunately, it's been damaged and we don't have the parts on hand to fix it." Erza's shoulders seemed to have relaxed, though there was still an edge to her voice that told Natsu she was anything but.

"What are you saying, then?" Natsu demanded, growing tired of Erza's roundabout way of telling him things. Sure, it sucked that they were having engine trouble, but at least the damn intruders hadn't blown the ship to smithereens and from the look of things, no one was seriously injured.

"I'm saying, we're stuck here until further notice." Erza raised a skeptical eyebrow, astonished and a little annoyed that Natsu had failed to put two and two together.

"No way!" Natsu roared, wincing a little when he pulled on the gash on his side he had gotten while fighting Jacob. He quieted down when he spotted Lucy, still sleeping off her exhaustion. "Take Lucy to the medical wing. She's still pretty out of it." And just like that, Natsu dropped down through the hole in the floor to seek out Gajeel.

"And there he goes." Erza sighed before picking Lucy up bridal style. "I was afraid of that," she murmured before heading off to see Wendy.

* * *

"Gajeel, it's been three hours. The fuck's the hold up?" Natsu whined, fidgeting with some of the levers that controlled the ship's temperatures. The overly pierced mechanic watched him out of the corner of his eye, hand twitching suddenly in barely contained annoyance. "I thought you were the best of the best."

"Go hang out with Blondie. Yer yappin' is giving me a headache." Gajeel clenched his jaw as he attempted to get rid of the pesky Captain. It took all he had to not clobber him to death with the wrench he was now gripping onto for dear life.

"Wendy already kicked me out of sickbay," Natsu grumbled, a little hurt that his crew members were being so disrespectful. "She said Lucy needs a little more time to rest." He looked down towards the ground, his right foot scuffing at the floorboards; the next unfortunate victim to succumb to his childlike antics.

"Well yer not doing any good here, ye don't know shit about engines." Gajeel glowered as he wiped the oil that shot up onto his face when he had tightened a bolt a little too hard. "Maybe go on deck and get some fresh air." Gajeel shrugged, hoping that the Captain would take his advice or hell, go _anywhere_ else so long as he was out of his hair.

Natsu pouted in defeat, looking up at Gajeel with the saddest puppy dog eyes he could muster in hopes of getting him to cave and let him stay, but Gajeel remain unfazed as he turned around with a wave to continue on with his work. Dragging his feet out of the room, the Captain slammed the door to the engine room and moped up the temporary staircase Gajeel had made out of old crates to the upper deck.

Leaning over the balcony and staring out at the sea, Natsu noticed a ship heading directly for them. The feeling of dread muted his senses as he gaped at the incoming enemy, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. There was no way his crew nor his ship were in any shape to fend off more of the Spriggan 12 in their current state. Sweat formed on the back of his neck and his brow furrowed in exasperation. He jump-started his senses as he scrambled off the railing and ran full speed in the direction of the helm to warn the rest of the crew only for a familiar voice to call out to him, effectively stopping him mid stride.

"What's the matter, Captain Dragneel? Not happy to see me?" Gray yelled out in amusement.

"Gray?!" Natsu watched in complete disbelief as the official Navy ship pulled up alongside the Fairy Tail. Gray stood at the front, barking out orders to his loyal fleet. A few of them hustled around, trying to connect the ships by flanking a piece of narrow wood across both ship's railings.

"You didn't really think I'd let you have all the fun?" Gray smirked, enjoying the absolute surprise that was written all over his friend's face as he strutted across the temporary bridge with Master Sergeant Juvia Lockser and a couple other members of his crew following close behind.

He jumped off with a soft thud, straightening up and stuffing his hands in his jacket's hip pockets as he took a moment to inspect the deck of the ship. His brow furrowed in confusion, head turning to address the ship's Captain. "Where's your crew?" He raised an eyebrow, trying hard not to scoff at the dumbstruck face Natsu had permanently etched on his face. "What if I had turned out to be one of the Spriggan Pirates?"

Natsu's face turned sour at what Gray was implying, his face reddening in both anger and embarrassment. "I knew it was you so I didn't need to warn the crew!"

Gray's professional demeanor threatened to crumble at any moment as the corner of his mouth noticeably twitched before he forcefully bit down on his bottom lip. "Such an impressive display of intuition, Captain Dragneel. Perhaps that is how you've become such a renowned pirate?"

Natsu's scowl returned tenfold, picking up on the First Sergeant's teasing instantly. "What do you know, Gray?!"

At that point, Gray lost all composure and openly laughed directly into Natsu's face. "Hot-headed as ever, I see."

Natsu grumbled something about being an 'overly spoiled wealthy asshole' before the matter on Gray's sudden and unexpected appearance took precedence. "Is your reason behind coming here to make fun of me or is it actually important?"

Gray shrugged, trying hard to keep his concerns unvoiced. "I figured you could use some help."

Natsu sighed. Though Gray's reason was a little out of character, he didn't mention it. Besides, if they hadn't shown up when they did, he would have had no way of getting to the Spriggan's hideout. Shit, now that he thought about it, the Fairy Tail crew wouldn't have even had a way of getting back to shore. Maybe Lucy's luck was rubbing off on him.

"Anyway, rally up your crew, Captain. We have things to discuss," Gray ordered, pulling Natsu out of his thoughts. He was a little annoyed that his frenemy was ordering him around like some lowly peon, but if he ever wanted to get this mini truce with the Navy over with, he figured it was best not to argue. He nodded begrudgingly before hunting down Erza, Gajeel, and Lucy.

* * *

Surprisingly, Natsu, Erza, Gajeel, Lucy, Gray, and Juvia had all managed to squeeze into his tiny quarters to devise a solid plan of attack, albeit it was a little uncomfortable. Not just because there were two high ranking Navy officers sitting down in his private quarters like a couple of old friends, but with so many warm bodies crammed into such a small space, the air was barely breathable and the heat was stifling.

"Christ, Natsu. For being a captain, your room is the size of my closet," Gray groaned, unconsciously unbuttoning his jacket and flinging it over the back side of his chair. "Or fuck, do you maybe own a fan or something?" He continued while starting to unbutton his undershirt as well.

"Gray, as delighted as I am to have you strip for me, you are in the presence of other women," Juvia spoke sweetly, though the daggers she was shooting in Lucy's direction were anything but.

"I'm sure Lucy here isn't into perverted Navy officers with a double life as a stripper." Natsu glanced at Lucy, praying that Gray wasn't her type.

"I can speak for myself, Captain." Lucy took a moment to scold the Captain before making eye contact with Gray, "I'm not into perverts with a stripping fetish."

"Sorry, sorry," Gray grumbled, blushing a little in embarrassment before reluctantly buttoning his shirt back up to his neck. "Ok, so, that's the plan? To not have one? Just run in there like chickens with their heads cut off?"

Natsu, completely elated by Lucy's response, waved a dismissive hand. "This will be easy. We have plenty of manpower to wipe out all of the Spriggan pirates, no prob."

Gray shook his head, amazed he was actually going to go along with his half-assed plan. There was no point in arguing with the headstrong man, though. He knew this from experience. Whenever Natsu got something in his head, there was no telling him otherwise.

"Just leave Invel to me." The look Gray gave Natsu left no room for argument, though the Captain wouldn't dare take away his friend's chance to get his revenge. After all, that's what had formed this strange bond between them in the first place.

Natsu huffed, pretending to be annoyed that he had to share in the fun. "Yeah, yeah. I'm after the Captain, anyway." He punched the palm of his right hand, a challenging grin twisting his lips. "'You know what they say, you take the King out and the kingdom falls."

* * *

The Fairy Tail Crew began to board the Royal Sovereign - the oldest and most well-taken care of ship in the Navy if Natsu remembered correctly. He would probably never know how Gray was simply handed the most renowned ship to ever sail the sea, but it never hurt to ask.

"So, the Royal Sovereign," Natsu began in an indifferent tone.

Gray simply looked up and smiled that shit-eating grin, "She's a beauty, isn't she?"

"She always was," he responded, admiring the ship he always dreamed of sailing, "She's the perfect ship. Her only mistake is having you as a Captain." He looked at the Royal Sovereign's Captain and stuck out his tongue childishly.

Gray tipped his head back and let out a boisterous laugh. "I never had to fight anyone for her. It was a pretty easy climb to the top without you there," he crossed his arms over his chest and a sad smile formed on his face. He turned to look at his former rival with that same smile and a serious look in his eye. "She should have been yours."

Natsu's expression softened. He had always thought Gray to be the better sailor during their short time training together. It was why he had strived to excel in every area. Gray irritated him enough to become worthy of being his rival. It was a relief to know that his friend felt the same.

"Well, is this everyone?" Gray changed the subject before anyone noticed them getting along. "Your crew isn't very big."

"Just shaddup and tell your lackeys to pull up anchor and set sail." Natsu murmured.

It wasn't long before the Royal Sovereign was sailing towards a hidden cove, unmarked on any official map Natsu could ever get his hands on. No wonder it had taken over a decade to track down the infamous Spriggan pirates.

Natsu grew restless as Gray's ship dropped anchor right outside of the entrance. "Why are we stopping here?"

"Do you really want to let the enemy know we're here?" Gray took in the disgruntled look on the pirate Captain's face, voice dropping a few octaves in hopes of not drawing any unwanted attention. "Look, I know you're anxious, Natsu, but we need to have some discretion."

Natsu glanced at Gray curiously before realization curled his lips up into an evil smirk. "So, in other words, take 'em by surprise?"

Gray's expression mirrored that of his old friend, "Exactly."

Breaking off into groups, the newly formed crew piled into a few rowboats and snuck into the enemy's camp, hoping that the smaller vessels would be less conspicuous. To everyone's surprise, there were no guards to greet them upon arriving. Under normal circumstances, that would be a good thing, but in this case, it had everyone on edge. Sure, their base was well hidden and damn near impossible to find, but didn't they already know there was a pirate ship close by? Hell, they even sent two of their own pirates to go and take them out. Were they really that confident that the Fairy Tail crew would be wiped out that easily?

"This will probably be easier if we split up." Erza decided, taking the initiative in hopes of avoiding a 'who's dick is bigger' argument between the two Captains.

They all let out a murmur in agreement before pairing up or going off on their own. Lucy started following Erza when a warm hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She turned to keep herself from falling, stumbling into Natsu's extended arm instead. She peeked up at the Captain and saw a serious expression on his face. He helped her upright before dragging her off in the opposite direction.

She ripped her wrist from the Captain's firm grasp and stepped back. "What are you doing?" Lucy demanded, annoyed that Natsu was pulling her along with no explanation.

"You're coming with me," he spoke as if his actions spoke for themselves.

"No. I'm not." She dragged out each word as if speaking to a child. "I'm going with Erza."

She began to head back but the redhead had already gone off without her. She glanced back at Natsu, scowling when she noticed the victorious smirk forming on his cocky face. Lucy closed her eyes and clenched her fists, "I'll find her. She couldn't have gotten far." She began walking off again but paused when she heard Natsu call out her name in an almost desperate tone.

"I can't -" Natsu tried, "Just listen, please."

"Why? I'm more than capable of handling myself." Lucy frowned, a little offended he didn't have more confidence in her abilities.

"I know." Natsu avoided her gaze, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Then what the hell's the problem!" Lucy let out in exasperation, throwing her hands up in the air for emphasis.

Natsu remained silent, looking everywhere else but at Lucy. At one point, he had decided boring a hole into her boots was the better option.

"If there isn't one, then I'm gonna go." Lucy's eye twitched in irritation. At times like this, she truly wondered if Natsu was a spoiled little boy trapped inside a man's body; a really sculpted and distracting man's body, but that was beside the point!

"I can't protect you if you're not with me." Natsu's words barely came out above a whisper as he finally met her confused stare.

"What?" His muffled declaration piqued her interest. Surely she misunderstood him.

"You can fight and that makes you badass, but how will I know-" Natsu paused, licking his dry lips as he tried to form the right words. "Look, I can't focus when I'm too busy wondering if you're ok." Pent up emotions poured from his lips like a broken dam. "I just worry, ok?"

Lucy's mouth dropped open, moved and a little surprised by Natsu's sentimental choice of words. Granted, her Captain had been flirting with her in his own way up until this point, but he was also never really one to come outright and talk about his feelings.

"Natsu," Lucy began only to realize that she was rendered completely speechless. Who would have thought she'd be caught off guard by her bold and brash Captain. Natsu kept her gaze, waiting expectantly for a response, a shy smile making its way onto his lips.

In an attempt to recollect her thoughts, Lucy swallowed down her now apparent feelings for the Captain and grabbed his hand. "We do make an awesome team so let's go kick some ass." She smiled a little awkwardly before dragging him off in the direction he was headed towards initially.

"What even made you decide to go this way, Captain?" Lucy groaned, feet a little sore from walking for so long in her high heeled boots. "We've been going in circles for the past hour."

"Nu uh. This corridor looks different than the last ten for sure." Natsu pointed out confidently.

"Are you blind?" Lucy grimaced as she put her hand on the wall to support her wobbly legs. "We've passed that exact staircase five times already." She stated matter of factly.

"You can't even tell! They all look the same anyway." Natsu cried out, trying and failing to defend his poor sense of direction.

"If you got us lost, so help me-" But Natsu never gave her the chance to finish her empty threat. Instead, he threw his arm out to halt Lucy in her strides, shoving her rather forcefully behind a wall of an adjacent corridor.

"Natsu, what the hell?" Lucy hissed out in a loud whisper.

"Shh. Someone's coming." Natsu reprimanded, putting a finger to her lips to stop her mid-rant. Lucy's eyes grew wide as she too heard the clunky footsteps and muffled conversation echoing down the empty hallways. From the sound of it, it appeared to be two females bickering back and forth about who would take out the leader of the group that just broke in.

"I'll go check on the Captain, you should probably go help the others." The green haired woman suggested to the other. "Apparently, the intruders are giving the boys a hard time."

The other woman, with long braided red hair and an uncanny resemblance to Erza, sighed and then nodded before going back down the corridor they came from. The green haired woman, however, headed off in the opposite direction.

"Now's our chance, let's follow her!" Natsu pulled Lucy back out from behind the wall, before crouching low and prowling after the unsuspecting woman. "We'll be sneaky like ninjas!"

"Captain, you're the complete opposite of quiet. You're a rowdy and obnoxious pirate." Lucy drawled, though she was unable to help a small snicker from escaping her lips at how ridiculous he looked.

"Aw, come on, Lucy!" Natsu crowed. "This'll be fun!"

Apart from Lucy having to suffer from Natsu's incessant _acting_ like a ninja, the idea did turn out to be a good one. The mysterious woman had indeed led them straight to the lion's den. Though she never actually went in to check on the Captain. Instead, she looked over her shoulder in the direction of where Natsu and Lucy were hiding before turning her head back around and walking away. Which in turn, had Lucy extremely suspicious. Had she led them there on purpose? Although, Natsu hadn't seemed to notice the exchange. Maybe she was just being paranoid.

"This is it. You ready?" Natsu glanced at Lucy, hand on the door waiting for her to give him the ok.

"Ready to face the world's deadliest pirate?" Lucy shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Natsu opened the door and was greeted by a meek and frightened voice, calling out from somewhere in the corner of the dimly lit room. "Who's there? Brandish, is that you?"

Lucy and Natsu shared a confused look before redirecting their attention back to the man that was actually hiding underneath his desk during the midst of an all out brawl.

"Uh," Natsu gaped. "Are you the Spriggan pirate's Captain?"

The man peeked his head out from behind the desk. His eyes flashed with recognition before clouding back over with fear. His silver locks stumbled over his shoulder as he tried to get a better look at the duo. Natsu would recognize that head of hair anywhere, though. It was _him_ , yet- Just what exactly happened to him over this last decade?

"I am." The man spoke timidly, pulling himself up to his feet to properly address his guests. "My name is Acnologia." He awkwardly lifted his right arm revealing nothing. There was no hand to grab a hold of let alone an arm. Natsu's eyes trailed along where the man's arm should have been but the elbow was where it ended."Woops. Forgive me." Acnologia apologized, letting out a carefree laugh before holding out his left hand to shake Natsu's.

Natsu stared at it for a moment before begrudgingly shaking it which seemed to please Acnologia as he offered him a satisfied smile in return. "So tell me, friends. Why exactly are you here?"

There was a moment of heavy silence that weighed on Lucy. She felt as though Acnologia - The Spriggan Pirate Captain and her parent's murderer - was mocking her with his light-hearted question. It took a great deal of concentration to keep herself from lunging at the ruthless man in front of her and finishing the job right then and there. "You know why we're here," she forced out between her teeth.

Natsu placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, holding her back slightly when she had taken an unconscious step towards Acnologia.

"I'm not proud of my past, child. I was a desperate, power hungry fool." Acnologia sighed guiltily. "I hide out here now in fear for my life. It's also my means to repent for my sins; I'm ridding the world of myself." Acnologia looked off distantly like he was imagining a life he wished was his own.

Lucy and Natsu stared at the, supposedly, former gruesome and careless Pirate Captain with fickle shock. His words were unexpected but the pair kept their guard up, prepared for anything. The expression on Acnologia's face forced Natsu to pause and actually consider the man's declaration. It was truly unbelievable that the most cold-hearted pirate known to ever exist was simply giving in; that he had seen the error of his ways and had confined himself to a life of isolation as punishment. It was too easy, but not impossible.

Lucy, however, could never forgive Acnologia for what he had done. He had taken the only family she ever had. At least Natsu had his older brother when his father passed, but Lucy had no one. Everything was taken from her the minute her parents died - she was stripped of her title and was forced into a system that could not care less about her well-being. Lucy Heartfilia, the shy little girl who once lived a happy life, had perished when her parents were murdered. Leaving nothing but a brewing hatred for the man before them and a hunger for vengeance.

"I have even given up all the loot I pillaged during our raids. I've anonymously donated them to charities." Acnologia went on. "I know it's hard for you to believe a man such as I, but you must leave this place. If August finds out you're here-" He paused, pulling a pocket watch out from underneath his shabby cloak to check the time.

Natsu stood there, completely blown away by the sudden turn of events. Lucy, however, was practically shaking at his side. "That watch." She rasped out from behind clenched teeth. "You lying scoundrel! That watch belonged to my father."

"Hm? Oh, this old thing?" he looked up from the watch to study her face. A condescending smile took hold of his thin lips. "It appears I underestimated you. I really do need a new one, but this one just holds so many fond memories."

Before Natsu even had enough time to process what was going on, Lucy had stepped forward, right hand balled into a fist as it successfully connected with his jaw. "Bold move, girl." Acnologia laughed out in amusement, though it was cut short by an unexpected follow-up left hook from one very pissed off Lucy.

Watching Lucy engage Acnologia had pulled Natsu out of his jumbled thoughts. He didn't need to have all the details. All he needed to know was that right now, Lucy was hurting and it was all because of the man standing before them. If anything, he was a little disappointed in himself for dropping his guard so easily. This was the man that killed Lucy's parents and left her with nothing. Sure, he had also killed his dad, but at least Natsu still had his older brother to help him get through it. His heart ached for her.

Natsu walked up beside her, grazing his hand against hers in hopes of letting her know she wasn't alone. "So, all of that was an act? You lied to us?"

"You naive boy. I just didn't want to get any blood on my hands." Acnologia directed his haughty sneer towards Natsu. "I would have had my subjects meet you on your way out and your death would have been quick and painless."

Natsu scoffed. "If there's anyone left of your crew by now. We aren't the only ones here, ya know."

"You just continue to say the wrong things, boy. Very much like your father had." Acnologia growled. Apparently, pissing him off like his father had too.

"Nah. I'm pretty sure he said the things that needed to be said." Natsu shrugged off Acnologia's attempt at getting him riled up. "What is it with you Spriggans and your tactics to fight dirty, anyway?"

Natsu pulled his sword from his sheath, pointing it directly at Acnologia, a calm yet determined look in his eyes. "Though I gotta say, you talking shit about my pops doesn't sit well with me."

Acnologia simply laughed, pulling his own sword out from underneath his long cloak. "Look familiar? I do love my treasures."

Of course, he recognized it. It was the sword that Natsu's grandfather had handed down to his father. Igneel was never really good at swordplay, but he kept it with him should the situation ever arise where he needed to protect the people he cared about.

"Can't say I'm surprised you have it seeing as you're a packrat for all things shiny," Natsu commented, choosing to take a page from Lucy's book.

He glanced at Lucy when he heard a soft giggle stumble from her lips, smiling brightly at her when she looked up to meet his curious gaze. They both nodded seeming to come to an unspoken agreement before turning to face Captain Acnologia; sword and dagger in hand.

With a calm and clear head, the fight didn't seem nearly as awful as when they fought Jacob, though there was no doubt Acnologia was the stronger of the two even down an arm. Not only did he pack one hell of a punch, but he had an easier time reading both Natsu's and Lucy's movements which led to one very long and drawn out battle.

Things got a little dicey when Natsu had gotten thrown into a wall, knocking him out cold, leaving Lucy to try to take him on by herself. Lucky for her, she was far more nimble and fast on her feet than the old pirate Captain so she was able to avoid the majority of his attacks. Unfortunately, that also meant she had to stay on the defense, unable to throw any punches of her own.

Sparing a glance at her unconscious partner was her first mistake, but she couldn't help but worry that he wouldn't be getting back up. Not just because she didn't want to fight this sadistic bastard alone, but because she had actually grown quite fond of her hot-headed Captain.

"Your eyes should be on me, girl." Acnologia chided as he used his sword to disarm her then land an unhindered kick to her side.

Lucy blanched when she took the hit head-on, losing her balance and stumbling backward from the sheer force behind his attack. She had even blacked out for a couple of seconds when her back first met the ground, knocking the wind right out of her lungs. His evil cackling bounced around in her head and pain radiated from her spine and shot through her limbs, screaming in protest when she tried to sit up. Lucy attempted to roll onto her side to try and get the room to stop spinning, but that only made it spin faster. She knew she had to get up, defend herself, get away, _anything_ , but her body refused to do what she commanded it to.

" I really do hate getting blood on my hands." Acnologia sighed as he made his way over to Lucy.

"Why did you do it then?" Lucy forced out between struggled breaths, hoping to buy herself a little time to devise a plan.

"Hm? Why'd I attack the Red Dragon?" Acnologia hesitated in his stride, taking a moment to consider her request.

Lucy gave a subtle nod, hoping that he did not realize her intentions. If there was one thing Lucy knew for sure about men, it was that they were itching to boast about their accomplishments. No matter how sadistic. If Acnologia did indeed take the bait, she'd have a few more seconds to figure out a plan of attack or, more likely, an escape.

Unless, of course, Natsu ever decided to join the land of the living while he still had the chance to enjoy the fact that he was alive, but that was risking too much on a man who could sleep through a storm.

She returned her attention to the imposing figure above her before remembering she had one more trick up her sleeve, or in this case _in her boot_. If she could just distract him long enough to get Natsu and herself out, they could come up with a plan. Though, now that she thought about it, she probably wouldn't get very far especially with an unconscious Natsu in tow.

Before she could put her plan into action, however, Acnologia had brought his attention back down to her writhing form, a sick sense of enjoyment twisting his face into a sinister sneer. The look alone was enough to momentarily pin Lucy to the ground in unadulterated fear.

Acnologia gave Lucy a bemused look, "Do I really need a reason?"

His cold-hearted words seemed to have struck a chord. "So, that's it? You killed them because you felt like it?" Lucy flinched, biting the inside of her cheek to stifle a whimper when Acnologia had carelessly stepped down on her left hand.

"You could say that." Acnologia declared proudly, squatting down beside Lucy to admire his newest handiwork.

"Ugh," Natsu groaned, dusting the debris off of his overcoat that had fallen on him when he was thrown through the wall.

"Why couldn't you have just stayed down?" Acnologia glared over at Natsu, irritation coating his tone. He remained beside Lucy, however, seemingly uninterested in the Captain's reappearance.

Hearing Natsu's pained voice was a relief. She forced her vision to focus and her limbs to move through the pain. Lucy tried to rise up as slowly and quietly as she possibly could be injured. With Natsu back on his feet, Lucy knew they could win this fight. She just needed to give Natsu the opportunity he needed and Lucy was dead set on giving him one.

"Your eyes should be on me." Lucy reiterated his exact words back to him as she pulled her lucky dagger out from her boot and jammed it right into his eye socket.

Acnologia roared, wiping away the blood oozing from his right eye. "You whore!" He growled in pain as he brought his sword upward, preparing to swing it down and behead Lucy in one swift movement.

But Natsu was already on his feet and running towards them. He grabbed Acnologia's hand that was clenching onto his father's sword and ran it through his chest as he tackled the old pirate to the ground. With a gurgled yell, Acnologia thrashed out, attempting in vain to pull the sword out from between his ribs. After a few moments, his spasms settled and his arm fell to the floor with a deafening thud. Natsu lifted his head up, curiously poking Acnologia's cheek with his pointer finger when he made no move to throw Natsu off or more likely, through another wall.

Natsu blew out a breath he didn't know he was holding and rolled off of Acnologia's lifeless form, taking a moment to pry his father's sword from Acnologia's cold, dead fingers. "I'll be taking this."

"You alright, Lucy?" Natsu called out, cringing when he tried to turn his head to look for her.

When he got no response, Natsu practically crawled to her side to check her pulse, nearly shouting in joy when he felt the faint beating of Lucy's heart against his fingertips. He couldn't help but marvel at how badass she truly was. She had pretty much taken out the world's deadliest pirate single-handedly.

He smiled fondly down at her before collapsing right beside her, flopping onto his back as he lost consciousness again, which is exactly where Erza and Gajeel found the duo not a half hour later.

"Is this going to be a recurring thing?" Erza sighed, dragging her tired body up to them. With a pained grunt, she bent down to swoop Lucy up in her arms, once again bridal style.

"Them sleeping together? Gihi, probably." Gajeel snickered, hoisting Natsu up and over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes with an ease Erza was finding herself jealous of.

She secretly wondered if while everyone else was fighting for their lives, Gajeel was just in some empty room fantasizing about his wife. With that sleazy comment, she was even more convinced he was.

"Get your mind out from the gutter! That is not what I meant." Erza blushed profusely, ruthlessly kicking Gajeel in the shin as she walked past him and out the door.

Gajeel scowled, using his free hand to run a soothing hand over the throbbing spot on his lower leg. "Ya damn prude."


End file.
